Strange Travel
15 Types of Tourism You’ve Never Heard of
Weird travel ideas that have become tourism niches
People find different reasons to travel; most go on a trip to relax, have an adventure or explore a new country. But some people find weird and wonderful motivation for travel. I personally look for unique travel experiences. Check out these interesting types of tourism for people that want to do things a little differently.
1. Sagittatourism
If you want to be a Sagittatourist simply throw a dart at a map and see where it lands — that’s your travel destination. You could do the same thing with a street map in your chosen travel destination. Point blindly (or throw a dart) at the city map and that is your destination for the day.
2. Monopolytourism
Tourists travel to their destination and buy a local version of Monopoly. Then, they visit the places on the Monopoly board. To decide where to visit first the Monopoly tourists roll the dice!
3. Erotourism
Named after the Greek god of love — Eros, erotourism is when two people travel separately to the same city then spend their vacation trying to find each other as they explore the city.
4. Contretourism
In contretourism the tourist travels to famous sites but when they get there they turn their back on the site and instead focus on the surroundings. For example, standing at the foot of the Eiffel Tower you would take photos and explore the surrounding plaza and gardens without giving the tower any of your attention.
5. Alphatourism
With alphatourism you arrive at your destination and take out your map; then turn to the index and find the first and last streets listed alphabetically. You draw a line on your map from the first street to the last and then set out to walk between the two exploring anything you come across along the way.
6. Aerotourism
Ever wanted to fly somewhere but you didn’t have the time or money? Well aerotourism is a good option! Aerotourists go to an airport and explore it from top to bottom without actually getting on a plane.
7. Atomic Tourism
Visit sites associated with atomic history, such as missile sites. One of the destinations for atomic tourism is the Nevada Test Site in Nevada, another is the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Visit the ghost city of Pripyat in the Ukraine; Hiroshima and atomic museums including the Hanford Site in Washington, the X-10 Graphite Reactor in Tennessee and the Obnibsk Nuclear Power Plant in Russia.
8. Narco Tourism
Take a tour of sites associated with the infamous Colombian drug baron, Pablo Escobar in Medellin, Colombia. Even without the Escobar connection, this is a stunning city but since the T.V. series Narcos, Medellin has been a popular narcotourism destination. The drug kingpin’s empire collapse in 1993 when Escobar’s net worth was $2 billion. Tourist can take a Pablo Escobar tour; see his grave at Montesacro Cemetary; see narco memorabilia; Pablo’s former home and visit the Museo Casa de la Memoria.
9. Tombstone Tourism
Travelers interested in tombstone tourism visit famous graveyards and burial sites across the globe. Also known as cemetery tourists, these morbid trippers visit cemeteries, do gravestone rubbings, stop at death camps and graves of the rich and famous. Popular tombstone tourism sites include La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires and Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France.
10. Tolkien Tourism
Fans of The Lord of the Rings can go on a trip focused on Tolkien, his books and related films. The main destination for Tolkien tourism is New Zealand where the movie trilogy and The Hobbit were filmed. There are also Tolkien tourism sites in Bloemfontein, South Africa where Tolkien was born and Oxford, England where the author taught.
11. SetJetting Tourism
When you go on a SetJetting vacation you visit famous film sets around the world. For example, Maya Beach where The Beach was filmed and Harry Potter sets in London. When you reach these set destinations you can usually take part in activities associated with the film, like visiting the stately homes where Jane Austen films were set.
12. Orphanage Tourism
Typically, it is wealthy westerners who visit orphanages in third world countries or underprivileged areas. The purpose is to make a contribution to the orphanage, raise awareness and sometimes even with the goal of adopting. Popular orphanage tourism destinations are India, the Ukraine and South America.
13. Disaster Tourism
Visit locations where there were natural or man-made disasters. Sometimes the tourists visiting these places do more harm than good and other times disaster tourism can bring volunteers and encourage donations to help with recovery.
14. Sex Tourism
Sex tourism takes you to places specifically to have sex! Usually with prostitutes. Popular sex tourism destinations include Bangkok and Amsterdam.
15. Industrial Tourism
If you’re interested in industrial tourism you’ll want to visit places where a particular industry thrives. For example, the wine country in France; the cheese-producing towns in the Netherlands; whiskey distilleries in Scotland and chocolate makers in Belgium. More recently industrial history sites have become a branch of industrial tourism with tours visiting former coal mines and factories. The U.K., Netherlands, Japan and Germany are leaders in industrial tourism.
